Suit may have ended Franklin Co. meeting prayers

UNION, Mo. (AP) — It appears that a lawsuit against an eastern Missouri county board has ended the practice of a prayer before its meetings.

The Franklin County Commission met Tuesday and began with a moment of silence, but no prayer. Earlier this month the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri sued to stop Presiding Commissioner John Griesheimer’s practice of praying at the meetings.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/JtJU70 ) reports that a resident had complained about the prayers, prompting the ACLU lawsuit.

Government bodies often begin meetings with an invocation, but by a religious leader, not government leaders themselves.